Dispenser box for sheet material

ABSTRACT

A dispenser box for sheet material in which the box has front, back and end walls and a bottom and top. A sheet cutter having a longitudinally extending cutting edge is mounted along the top edge of the front wall of the box. Hingedly connected to the top of the backwall of the box, is cover means including a lid disposed to cover the top of the box and a flanged down front flap disposed to cover the cutter and the upper part of the front wall of the box. The flanged down front flap has longitudinalextending separable means and a terminal end portion secured to the upper part of the front wall of the box below the separable means. The separable means is below the cutting edge, whereby separation of the terminal end portion from the cover means releases the lid for hinge action and exposes the cutting edge for cutting action. The severed terminal end portion remains secured to the front wall of the box and stabilizes the cutter.

United States Patent Woodlmg [4 1 Feb. 15, 1972 [54] DISPENSER BOX FOR SHEET Primary Examiner-Frank T. Yost MATERIAL Attorney-Woodling, Krost, Granger and Rust [72] Inventor: George V. Woodling, 22077 West Lake Road, Rocky River, Ohio 44116 [57] ABSTRACT [22] Filed: May 7, 1970 A dispenser box for sheet material in which the box has front, [2]] p NOJ 35,445 back and end walls and a bottom and top. A sheet cutter having a longitudinally extending cutting edge is mounted along [52] U.S.C1 ..225/48 the P edge Ofthe from Wall Of the Hingedly connected [51] Int. Cl. ..B26f 3/02 to the p of the backwall of the box, is cover means including [58] Field of Search ..225/48, 49, 50; 229/17; a lid disposed to cover the top of the box and a flanged down 206/58, 52 front flap disposed to cover the cutter and the upper part of the front wall of the box. The flanged down front flap has lon- References Cited gitudinal-extending separable means and a terminal end portion secured to the upper part of the front wall of the box UNITED STATES PATENTS below the separable means. The separable means is below the 3,227,340 1/ 1966 Haley ..225/48 X cutting edge, whereby separation of the terminal end portion 2,628,179 2/1953 Bergstein ....225/48 X from the cover means releases the lid for hinge action and ex- 2,825,451 3/1958 Henry ....225/48 X poses the cutting edge for cutting action. The severed terminal 2,936,937 1 Guyer end portion remains secured to the front wall of the box and 3,002,667 10/1961 Buttery ....225/48 stabilizes the cutter, 3,281,035 10/1966 Woodling ..225/48 FOREIGN PATENTSOR APPLICATIONS 6 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures 93,111 12/1958 Norway ..225/48 PAIENTEUFEB 15 I972 3.642.185

INVENTOR GEORGE v. WOODLING BY W ,M,WMW, C a W DISPENSER BOX FOR SHEET MATERIAL BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Many different dispenser boxes have been proposed to facilitate the dispensing of sheet material by the housewife. However, their lack of simplicity of manufacture and their awkward use have prevented them from becoming acceptable by the manufacture and the housewife.

Accordingly, it is an object of my invention to provide a dispenser box which is simple to manufacture and which is easy to use by the housewife.

Another object is to facilitate the ready opening of the box and to facilitate the ready grasping of the sheet material for the cutting operation.

Another object is to withdraw the free end portion of a strip of sheet material from the supply roll at the top thereof and to pass it laterally therefrom for severing action over the top of the cutting edge, whereby the next advanced free end portion of the strip may swing away from the cutting edge to facilitate easy grasping thereof for starting the next dispensing operation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention constitutes a dispenser box for sheet material, said box being constructed of paperboard and having front, back and end walls and a bottom and top, a sheet cutter having a longitudinally extending cutting edge at the top edge of the front wall of the box, hinged cover means at the top of the backwall of the box, said cover means including a lid disposed to cover the top of the box and a flanged down front flap disposed to cover the cutter and the upper part of the front wall of the box, said flanged down front flap having longitudinally extending separable means and a terminal end portion secured to said upper part of the front wall of the box below said separable means, said separable means being below said cutting edge whereby separation of said terminal end portion from said cover means releases said lid for hinge action and exposes said cutting edge for cutting action, said severed terminal end portion remaining secured to said front wall of the box and stabilizing said cutter.

Other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the following description and claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a longitudinal view of my dispenser box, shown in the closed condition before being opened;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal view of my dispenser box, shown in the open position without the foil supply roll inside;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are cross-sectional end views, diagrammatically showing how a strip of sheet material is torn off and dispensed.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT My dispenser box is identified by the reference character and may be made of paperboard and is adapted to be held in the hand when being used to dispense sheet material. My box is particularly useful in dispensing aluminum foil and highgrade resilient wax paper which possess in its wound state on a supply roll a natural resiliency tending to urge the free end portion thereof to unwind itself in a reverse direction from the supply roll and further tending to overbalance gravity whereby, when a sheet has been torn from the strip, the next advanced free end portion will swing upwardly and away from the cutter and present itself for easy grasping for starting the next dispensing operation.

As shown, my dispenser box is of an elongated construction and is adapted to hold a supply roll 11 of sheet material on a bottom 16 thereof. My box has a front wall 12, and backwall I3, and end walls 14 and 15. The supply roll 11 is disposed to be dispensed through the top of the box. A sheet cutter 17 having a longitudinally extending cutting edge is mounted along the top edge of the front wall 12 of the box. Hingedly connected to the top of the backwall 13 is cover means including a lid 18 and a flanged-down front flap 19 disposed to cover the cutter and the upper part of the front wall 12 of the box. The flanged-down front flap 19 has a longitudinally extending separable means 20 and a terminal end portion 21 secured, preferably glued, to the upper part of the front wall 12 of the box below the separable means 20. As illustrated, the separable means is below the cutting edge, whereby separation of the terminal end portion 21 from the cover means releases the lid for hinge action and exposes the cutting edge for cutting action, see FIG. 2. The separable means 20 preferably comprises a weakened line having spaced longitudinal slits, whereby when a transverse pressure is applied thereto, the weakened line will readily rupture. Accordingly, the terminal end portion 21 may be readily severed or separated from the cover means upon applying a transversely directed pressure thereagainst. After separation, the severed terminal end portion 21 remains secured to the front wall of the box and tends to stabilize the cutter by holding it steady against excessive laterally swaying (bowing) during the cutting operation. The severed edge of the strip of sheet material is thus cut relatively straight, since the front wall is prevented from excessively bowing outwardly as it would otherwise tend to do durin cutting operation.

In operation, the box for a right-hand person is preferably held in the left-hand with the tip of the fingers pressing against the lower part of the front wall 12 (represented by arrows A in FIGS. 3 and 4); with the bottom 16 of the box resting in the palm of the hand (represented by arrows B), and with the thumb extending along the lower side part of the backwall 13 (represented by arrows C). In this position, the box will naturally be tilted backwards as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The lid 18 will naturally tend to swing upwardly and assume an open position as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The resiliency of the foil will tend to cause it to swing upwardly as shown in FIG. 3 where it may be easily grasped for starting the next dispensing operation. As shown in FIG. 4, the free end portion of the strip is withdrawn from the supply roll at the top thereof and passes laterally therefrom for severing action over the top of the cutting edge, whereby the next advanced free end portion of the strip may swing away from the cutting edge to facilitate easy grasping thereof for starting the next dispensing operation.

The present disclosure includes that contained in the appended claims, as well as that of the foregoing description. Although this invention has been described in its preferred form with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure of the preferred form has been made only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction and the combination and arrangement' of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed I claim:

1. A dispenser box for sheet material, said box being constructed of paperboard and having front, back and end walls and a bottom and top, a sheet cutter having a longitudinally extending cutting edge at the top edge of the front wall of the box, hinged cover means including a lid disposed to cover the top of the box and a flanged-down front flap disposed to cover the cutter and the upper part of the front wall of the box, said flanged down front flap having longitudinally extending separable means and a terminal end portion secured to said upper part of the front wall of the box below said separable means, said separable means being below said cutting edge whereby separation of said terminal end portion fromsaid cover means releases said lid for hinge action and exposes said cutting edge for cutting action, said severed terminal end portion remaining secured to said front wall of the box and stabilizing said cutter.

2. The structure of claim 1 wherein said terminal end portion is separable from said cover means upon applying a transversely directed pressure thereagainst.

3. The structure of claim 1 wherein sheets may be severed from the free end portion of a strip wound on a supply roll mounted within the box, said free end portion of the strip being withdrawn from the supply roll at the top thereof and passing laterally therefrom for severing action over the top of the cutting edge, whereby the next advanced free end portion of the strip may swing away from the cutting edge to facilitate easy grasping thereof for starting the next dispensing opera- U.

4. The structure of claim 1, wherein said terminal end portion of said flanged-down front flap is glued to said upper part of the front wall of the box below said separable means.

5. A dispenser box for sheet material, said box being constructed of paperboard and having front, back and end walls and a bottom and top, a sheet cutter having a longitudinally extending cutting edge at the top edge of the front wall of the box, hinged cover means at the top of the backwall of the box, said cover means including a lid disposed to cover the top of the box and a flanged-down flap connected to the upper part of the front wall of the box and covering said cutting edge, means to release said lid for hinge action and to expose said cutting edge for cutting action, wherein sheets may be severed from the free end portion of a strip wound on a supply roll mounted within the box, said free end portion of the strip being withdrawn from the supply roll at the top thereof and passing laterally therefrom for severing action over the top of the cutting edge, whereby the next advanced free end portion of the strip may swing away from the cutting edge to facilitate easy grasping thereof for starting the next dispensing operation, said upper part of the front wall of the box comprising at least two joined layers of paperboard to stabilize said cutter, one of said joined layers including said flanged-down front flap.

6. A dispenser box for sheet material, said box having front, back and end walls and a bottom and top, a sheet cutter having a longitudinally extending cutting edge at the top edge of the front wall of the box, hinged cover means including a lid disposed to cover the top of the box and a flanged-down front flap disposed to cover the cutter and the upper part of the front wall of the box, said flanged-down front flap having first and second portions with longitudinally extending separable means therebetween positioned below said cutting edge, said second portion constituting a terminal end portion, said first portion remaining secured to said lid and exposing said cutting edge for cutting action upon separation from said first portion and facilitating the ready grasping of said sheet material for dispensing from the box. 

1. A dispenser box for sheet material, said box being constructed of paperboard and having front, back and end walls and a bottom and top, a sheet cutter having a longitudinally extending cutting edge at the top edge of the front wall of the box, hinged cover means including a lid disposed to cover the top of the box and a flanged-down front flap disposed to cover the cutter and the upper part of the front wall of the box, said flanged down front flap having longitudinally extending separable means and a terminal end portion secured to said upper part of the front wall of the box below said separable means, said separable means being below said cutting edge whereby separation of said terminal end portion from said cover means releases said lid for hinge action and exposes said cutting edge for cutting action, said severed terminal end portion remaining secured to said front wall of the box and stabilizing said cutter.
 2. The structure of claim 1 wherein said terminal end portion is separable from said cover means upon applying a transversely directed pressure thereagainst.
 3. The structure of claim 1 wherein sheets may be severed from the free end portion of a strip wound on a supply roll mounted within the box, said free end portion of the strip being withdrawn from the supply roll at the top thereof and passing laterally therefrom for severing action over the top of the cutting edge, whereby the next advanced free end portion of the strip may swing away from the cutting edge to facilitate easy grasping thereof for starting the next dispensing operation.
 4. The structure of claim 1, wherein said terminal end portion of said flanged-down front flap is glued to said upper part of the front wall of the box below said separable means.
 5. A dispenser box for sheet material, said box being constructed of paperboard and having front, back and end walls and a bottom and top, a sheet cutter having a longitudinally extending cutting edge at the top edge of the front wall of the box, hinged cover means at the top of the backwall of the box, said cover means including a lid disposed to cover the top of the box and a flanged-down flap connected to the upper part of the front wall of the box and covering said cutting edge, means to release said lid for hinge action and to expose said cutting edge for cutting action, wherein sheets may be severed from the free end portion of a strip wound on a supply roll mounted within the box, said free end portion of the strip being withdrawn from the supply roll at the top thereof and passing laterally therefrom for severing action over the top of the cutting edge, whereby the next advanced free end portion of the strip may swing away from the cutting edge to facilitate easy grasping thereof for starting the next dispensing operation, said upper part of the front wall of the box comprising at least two joined layers of paperboard to stabilize said cutter, one of said joined layers including said flanged-down front flap.
 6. A dispenser box for sheet material, said box having front, back and end walls and a bottom and top, a sheet cutter having a longitudinally extending cutting edge at the top edge of the front wall of the box, hinged cover means including a lid disposed to cover the top of the box and a flanged-down front flap disposed to cover the cutter and the upper part of the front wall of the box, said flanged-down front flap having first and second portions with longitudinally extending separable means therebetween positioned below said cutting edge, said second portion constituting a terminal end portion, said first portion remaining sEcured to said lid and exposing said cutting edge for cutting action upon separation from said first portion and facilitating the ready grasping of said sheet material for dispensing from the box. 